The Drow War Book Two. The Dying Of - RoseRed

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of the stuff on the whole plane is the throne of Noctulos,
up at the Colossus. It claims that it knows a secret way
into the castle which it will tell the Player Characters.
However, it insists that they must first ‘prove their
worth’ and provide some long-absent entertainment by
solving some riddles.
At this the other heads groan and make comments such
as ‘just tell them if you really know something’, but
the wizard head is absolutely adamant and will not
change its mind. The Player Characters must solve two
out of three riddles to gain the information. The three
somewhat crusty riddles are:
The poor have it, while the rich need it. It is higher
than the highest heaven and yet deeper than the deepest
sea. And he who eats it shall die! What is it? (Answer:
nothing.)
He went to the woods and got it. He sat down and
looked for it. Because he could not find it, he took it
home with him. What was it? (Answer: a thorn in the
foot.)
I cannot be touched, but my voice is louder than the
lion’s roar. I strike men dead, and my weeping may
drown them. What am I? (Answer: a thundercloud.)
If the Player Characters manage to solve two riddles, the
head is greatly excited and tells them to make their way
to the base of the great wall, to a point behind a rock
formation shaped like a bear’s head. There they should
search the wall for a secret door, touch it and speak the
words ‘Acerbicus Formaldeum’. This will open up a
secret passageway which leads through the wall, winds
up through the foot of the Colossus and opens straight
into the throne room. The hags sometimes use it to
bring child-souls to their master.
11. The Great Wall
The wall of black rock before you must be 200 feet
high. It looks perfectly smooth and impossible to climb.
Above the top of the wall, you can clearly see the head
and shoulders of a humanoid form carved out of the
rock. The only opening in the wall is an archway some
thirty feet wide, with worked stone double doors closing
it off.
The stone doors are barred from the inside, where three
nightwalkers stand in continual guard (see page 131 for
statistics). They attempt to incapacitate invaders rather
than destroy them, so that their lord can torture them
to death at his pleasure. If Noctulos is hunting abroad,
they stow prisoners in the dungeon cells (see below)
until he returns.
Characters who look for the secret door mentioned by
the bearded skull must first make a Search check (DC
20) to find the rock that marks it, then find the door
itself, which is well hidden, requiring another Search
check (DC 25). There is indeed a secret staircase behind
it, which leads up into the throne room at Area 17.
12. The Colossus
The stronghold now visible before you is fashioned into
the shape of a roughly human figure seated against the
mountain, gripping its knees and contorted in pain. The
lower part of the head is a jagged-mouthed cave, making
it seem as if the mouth of the Colossus has rotted away.
Between the feet a narrow, crooked cavity offers a way
into the mountainside.
The small courtyard in front of the Colossus is covered
with chips of gravel-like stone that glow with a luminous
blackness. These can only be fragments of tenebrium.
From above, a deep groan sounds, shaking the whole
mountain and sending loose stones dancing down the
side. It is as if the Colossus is groaning in pain.
The entryway into the tunnel is only two and a half
feet across, meaning that Medium size creatures must
squeeze through – each move into or through this space
counts as two squares of movement – while Large
creatures must make an Escape Artist check (DC 20)
to fit through.
12a. Narrow Defi le
The narrow tunnel that threads into the mountain seems
to have cracked open only recently, as if the Colossus
had shifted its position and broken open a way into the
rock.
The entirety of this tunnel is mechanically trapped. So
long as it remains totally dark, the trap does not activate.
Creatures who shed light upon the tunnel walls, ceiling
or floor trigger the trap; the Games Master should bear
in mind that some magic weapons shed light. When the
trap is sprung, the sides of the tunnel grind together, as
if the Colossus were bringing its feet inwards.
Crushing Tunnel: CR 17; mechanical; location trigger
(light sensitive); automatic reset; no attack roll required
(24d6, crush); multiple targets (all targets in tunnel
area); never miss; onset delay (1 round); Search DC 30;
Disable Device DC 30.
12b. Hall of the Bleak Ones
This chamber is carved in an unusual manner. The
walls are cut in triangular facets around a foot across,
as if you were inside an inverse black jewel. Steps lead
Ibon Presno Gonzalez (order #73006) 8